


The Zed Word

by Dance_Elle_Dance



Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 14:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4881022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_Elle_Dance/pseuds/Dance_Elle_Dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ya know, with all this stuff happening with the Pattern, I'm surprised we haven't run into any zombies." </p>
<p>Or, the team settles in for a viewing of Night of the Living Dead.</p>
<p>(Originally posted on 6/22/11.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Zed Word

**Author's Note:**

> Re-post of my first - and currently only - Fringe fanfic. I really love this little series and remember having a lot of fun writing this. Please enjoy!

"Walter, you're blocking the TV."

The aforementioned Bishop turned slowly, making no quick movement to get out of the way, but apologized nonetheless, "Oh, yes. Sorry, Peter."

Peter rolled his eyes as he took the remote from its spot on the floor next to him. He waited for the title screen to come up before pressing play and leaning back against the bottom of the couch, resting his head against Olivia's knees and using them as if they were cushions.

Tonight was certainly an odd one.

There was, shockingly, nothing freaky and Walter-related happening, so... _this_ ended up going on instead.

It all started one day last week. Peter and Astrid had been in a rather heated discussion about zombie movies and all of their properties and characteristics, arguing over which was best, which was worst, which scenario was most likely to happen...

"Oh, my," Walter had said as he'd walked past, "I seem to remember watching...yes, watching one of those. _Night of the Living Dead_. Black and white, of course. I'd very much like to watch it again..."

And Walter had trailed off, lost in thought, as he went over to pet Gene.

That had basically been the catalyst of it all. Walter would mention it every day, pretty much. Once, Peter had caught him in the lab, idly working over something. When he had asked about it, Walter simply replied, "Ah, nothing. Just...um, testing a theory of Mr. Romero's."

Peter had stopped and stared, mouth gaping open as the words sunk in.

"Oh, no."

Walter. Trying to create a zombie virus. Not good. Especially when Walter actually had a good chance of succeeding.

So, what else to do other than a zombie movie marathon? It would show Walter the destruction a zombie apocalypse would cause, maybe deter him from actually inventing The Zombie Virus.

Then again, it could just encourage him...

But Peter digressed and watched as Walter sat down on the couch they had dragged in the lab, just for this event. Walter was sandwiched between Olivia and Broyles (to everyone's surprise, he was an avid zombie fan). Peter took up the floor in front of the couch, sitting alongside Astrid.

The opening credits started, the music playing as the names of the people involved in the film flashed past. Peter reached for the remote to turn the volume up.

"It doesn't need to be that loud, Peter," Walter gently told his son.

"This coming from the man who _loudly_ states the chemical compounds of soda at three A.M.," Peter replied, a grin on his face as he turned down the volume; the slight, embarrassed mumblings of his father were the only thing he could hear in response.

"What's this about, anyway?"

There was a collective silence as everyone turned to look at Olivia.

"You're kidding, right?" Peter asked, an eyebrow raised in incredulity.

Olivia stared at him blankly.

Peter sighed. "Oh, you poor, sheltered, little person."

He twisted his body around, laying his arm casually across Olivia's knees. "Okay. _Night of the Living Dead_. It gets night soon, and there are a crapload of the living dead."

"Zombies," Walter chirped up, a pleased smile on his face.

Olivia stared at Walter, her intelligent eyes seeming to grasp everything in that moment, even the part where Walter was contemplating playing mad scientist - er, madder scientist. " _Oh_."

" _...they're coming to get you, Barbra..._ " came from the television at that moment.

"Oh, indeed they are, but they get _you_ first, my lad," Walter said as he fidgeted excitedly. Peter sighed, Olivia looked clueless, Astrid laughed, and Broyles winced as one of Walter's stray elbows caught him in the ribs.

The raggedy zombie on the screen stumbled around, knocking down the main character's brother, bashing his head against a headstone of the graveyard they were currently running around in.

"Oh," Olivia said, now interested.

"She's only interested when it involves murder - "

"Hey!" she shouted indignantly at Peter. "I am not."

Peter gave her a cheeky grin before turning back to the television.

"Ya know," Astrid spoke quietly, "with all this stuff happening with the Pattern, I'm surprised we _haven't_ run into any zombies."

Walter looked like a child at Christmas. "It seems that I am just moments away - "

"From that?" Peter pointed at the screen, which now showed a decaying corpse at the top of the stairs. The heroine, Barbra, screamed and ran down the staircase.

"Oh, no, Peter. That body is far too badly decomposed."

"But in _The Zombie Survival Guide_ \- "

"Rubbish, Astro."

"Astrid."

"That's what I said."

Peter slapped his forehead.

"Oh, yeah," Broyles spoke up, his deep voice ringing with authority even in the casual atmosphere created by screaming people and stumbling zombies, "here come the big guns."

A tall, handsome character entered, smashing his way through zombies and calling himself Ben. Everyone was too distracted at Broyles's use of "big guns" to notice.

"What?" Broyles asked. "This is an iconic role for the times."

"True, true," Walter said, leaning forward to get a better view of the television, despite the fact that he had the best view in the house.

"Why is she just sitting there?" Olivia demanded, looking strangely at the blonde girl on the screen.

"She's catatonic, I believe," Walter chimed in, as usual, with a correct answer.

"She's not doing anything to help Ben," Olivia stated, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the cushions of the couch. Peter felt her knees push against his head, but he grinned at the tone in her voice. It was almost childlike in quality. Endearing, like the rest of her.

"I don't think she's able to," Astrid offered. "Walter said she's catatonic."

Peter could practically hear Olivia's eyes roll.

As the movie went on, everyone had their favorite parts to call out.

"Oh, stupid! Your daughter's been bitten!"

"Bash 'em! Bash 'em in the head!"

"Catatonic my ass."

"I never understood why they would hide in the basement..."

"Well, it helps Ben at the end."

"And he still gets - "

"Hey!" Olivia finally burst through this part in the conversation. "Newbie here! No spoilers!"

"Hmm, I do believe I could create a stable compound of the zombie virus with enough - "

"NO!" was the collective shout. Walter shrank back into the couch cushions like a plant desperately needing water.

And the movie raged on. Zombie after zombie - or _ghouls_ as they were called in this film - marching about, looking dead and pale and like zombies in general.

"I wonder," Walter began, "if there is a difference in the virus that would cause zombies to be either fast or slow. A certain variable in strains, if you will - "

"Drop that thought, Walter," Peter said as gently as he could. Broyles just stared at Walter like a man on the brink of being frightened enough to run for the hills. Walter Bishop, creating zombies? That sounded terrifyingly plausible.

"Fast zombies? Slow zombies? What do you mean?" Olivia asked curiously, rapping Peter on the head with her knuckles.

"Liv, it's like... _Dawn of the Dead 1978_ versus _Dawn of the Dead 2004_." Peter provided an example from his reservoirs of zombie knowledge, as if that would help a self-proclaimed noob. He was rewarded with a quizzical furrow of the agent's brow.

"Looks like we'll be having another movie night," Astrid commented in a chipper voice.

"Oh, yay!" Walter enthused, clasping his hands together.

Broyles rolled his eyes and pointed at the screen. "We're missing the ending."

They all turned their heads to the screen where Ben was rising from the basement, having waited out the numerous amount of living dead. He looked relieved.

"Oh, that's nice - " Olivia started.

_BANG!_

"What the hell!" She stared at the screen stunned at what she had just witnessed. Poor Ben, hero of the movie, had just gotten done in by _people_. Real, living people who were just stupid enough to shoot before asking questions. Outrage and shock poured through her, and she grit her teeth.

"Oh, this movie never loses its impact," Walter started, "I remember showing it to you, Peter, and you were so frightened that you - "

"Okay, Walter." Peter patted his father on the knee as if telling him to quit talking.

Olivia still had that look of lovely shock on her features that could only be the result of a first time, spoiler-free viewer of the movie.

"Okay, so," Peter stretched, "same time next week? _Dawn of the Dead_ double feature?"

There was a hurried sound of excited agreement as everyone shuffled away. Peter placed his arm on Olivia, as if helping guide her out of her own catatonic state induced by the ending of the movie - he couldn't help but notice how ironic that was.

Peter grinned as he and Olivia walked to the door of Walter's lab. He looked back at the faces of his friends, thinking that their little zombie club would be something to look forward to from now on.

Unless, that is, Walter decided to unleash the zombies on them.


End file.
